Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Mumbai will house the 2011 World Cup secretariat and India will host 29 of the 49 matches after the event's Central Organising Committee today reallocated the games following the ICC decision to drop Pakistan as a co-host of the tournament.

Accordingly, the opening match of the 10th edition of the quadrennial tournament would be held as scheduled in Bangladesh on February 19, 2011, while the final would be held in India.

The opening ceremony of cricket's showpiece event would also be held in Bangladesh on February 18.The Central Organising Committee, which continues to have Sharad Pawar heading it, has reallocated the matches by which India would host 29 games across eight venues, Sri Lanka 12 games across three and Bangladesh eight at two venues," ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat said here.

"Bangladesh would play host to two quarter finals while one quarter final each would be held by India and Sri Lanka who will also split the two semi finals equally. The final would be held in India (in March, 2011)," Lorgat said.

The reallocation of matches was necessitated by the ICC's decision to take away co-hosting rights from Pakistan due to security concerns in the wake of the terror attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore on March 3.

Pakistan was slated to host 14 ties, including a semifinal, while Lahore was named the home of the secretariat.

"The Central Organising Committee was also reorganised and will continue to be headed by Sharad Pawar with representatives from the three World Cup hosting countries and a representative of the ICC," Lorgat said.

The World Cup Organising Committee also relocated the Secretariat from Lahore to the BCCI's headquarters in Mumbai, besides appointing BCCI Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty as the Event Managing Director.

"Prof Shetty will be the Event Managing Director while I S Bindra, the special adviser to the ICC, would be a key person in the management of the World Cup. The secretariat will be in Mumbai in the offices of the BCCI", the ICC CEO said.

There would also be a venue inspection group to oversee the preparation for the mega event in which BCCI secretary N Srinivasan and Shetty, along with Bangladesh's Mahbubul Anam, are members, Lorgat said.

Lorgat assured that the security concerns of the various members of the ICC and the players would be addressed with the formation of a special committee, headed by BCCI President Shashank Manohar, to oversee the security details.

"The security arrangements are very important and a special committee with Mr Shashank Manohar at its helm would put together security plans for the successful conduct of the World Cup in 2011", the ICC official said.

"It will be an ongoing process till World Cup 2011, and we will do our best to convince players and other countries in addressing security issues," Lorgat said.

He also said that the ICC has not received any communication, in writing or otherwise, from the Pakistan Cricket Board about their team not wanting to play any World Cup tie in India.

"We have nothing on the table. We would cross the bridge when we reach it. I don't think Pakistan would object (to playing matches in India)," he maintained.

Lorgat did not read much into the decision of the Indian Premier League not to have members of the ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit overseeing its running of matches.

"It's the BCCI's prerogative whether to ask for ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit's assistance or not in the IPL," he said.